One Night in Evergreen Mills
by Jay08
Summary: The Lone Wanderer and his sour companion Jericho are closing in on James Cole Sr.'s location at Smith Casey's Garage, but as nightfall approaches the two seek shelter in the most unlikely of places. Evergreen Mills. Despite their initial safe passage to the mill, they soon find themselves outnumbered as the situation turns violent. Can they survive one night in Evergreen Mills?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This is going to be a short story about James's night in Evergreen Mills, which we hear a bit about in Jericho's tale during my Story "Megaton Stories". In this tale we will see James on the night before he finds his father, but soon comes to some disturbing conclusions that he may not get the happy ending he had been hoping for when he reunites with his father. I am currently working on the follow-up to Megaton Stories, so this small tale should keep you all satisfied till then. Remember to R &R. **_

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James and Jericho walked through the wasteland through the heavy heat, feeling like they had been walking for days as they crossed over another crater. James had not stopped moving since he had discovered the location his father was being held, in old smith Casey's garage on the other side of the wasteland. Jericho complained constantly throughout their journey, but it had little to no effect on the Lone Wanderer. This was his goal after all, to find his father so he could go home to vault 101, and after all he had been through it was about time he got what he deserved. Excitement and impatience overwhelmed James, and this kept him going.

"Kid…its getting fucking dark!" Jericho barked, out of breath but still having enough lung capacity to smoke a cigarette.

"So? We're almost there….I think?" James said, uncertain if they were approaching their destination or completely lost. After all the pip-boy map he used was just recently installed and there was apparently still a few kinks to work out.

"And that fills me with fucken confidence, but we gotta find a place to crash!" Jericho said sarcastically, leaning against a boulder as he caught his breath. Were Wadsworth here, he would certainly point out that smoking was perhaps the cause of Jericho's loss of breath.

"Fine, we'll set up camp here and-"

"Cant out here!" Jericho interrupted, looking around the area with a faint sense of recognition in his eye.

"Why the fuck not?" James asked, very impatient at the thought of seeing his father again.

"Too dangerous…" Jericho stated, not really wanting to dig up old wounds for the kid, but at the same time needing to explain just what he was talking about.

"Are you fucking serious? We are just a couple of hours away from our destination, and you want to find a place to sleep because it's too dangerous?" James asked his tone angry and betrayed by his comrades desire to rest at a time like this. It was selfish, he knew, but he had the right to be selfish at this stage of his journey.

"You think I'm fucking joking?!" Jericho barked, glaring into the kids eyes.

"No…I think you're a pussy!" James responded, his tone completely condescending.

"Say that to my face!" Jericho barked, getting into James's face ready to beat the crap out of the cocky little shit.

"I will once you tell me what the fuck is around here that's so dangerous?" James asked, readying himself for the fight that was most certainly about to come. He would move on to the garage with, or without Jericho, if that was going to be the way this end. There was a very short list of things that could stop him at this point, from finding his father.

"This is Yao Gual country." Jericho barked, causing James's face to turn from a fiery angry red, to a terrified white.

James had become very cautious of the ursine creatures since losing his arm to one a few months prior, however he would never admit that he was in fact afraid of them. This man, who had killed Deathclaws and armies of raiders, froze in fear in front of a Yao Guai. He was fully capable of killing one if need be, but still tried to avoid them at almost all costs. Jericho knew this, and often used it to exploit the young man into doing what the old Raider wanted to do. This time, however, Jericho was not bluffing. He knew the area very well, as he used to live not too far from where they were. Jericho made it a habit now and again to drop by to his old home for a quick visit and a look at the new blood. Sure these visits weren't as often as he would hope them to be, but they still happened now and again.

"So…I take it you know a place we can spend the night?" James asked, the sweat pumping from his body as the image of his arm being ripped from his shoulder returned to his mind.

"In fact, kid, we happen to be near a place I used to call home." Jericho explained, a smile crossing his dirty face as he spoke.

"Are you serious?" James asked, a little bewildered at the thought of Jericho living anywhere else except Megaton.

"Believe it or not, as long as you let me do all the talking we will be fine." Jericho responded, as he checked his machine gun's clip. The old girl was still kicking despite getting on in years, but sooner or later would break on her owner.

"That's not helping. Is there really no other option?" James asked, not liking the idea of Jericho doing all the talking in any situation, let alone one that could get them both killed.

"Come on, it will be fun. Besides, you're planning to go home with your dad after we find him right?" Jericho made the argument, loading a full clip into his rifle.

"Well…yeah?" James admitted, feeling a little ashamed of himself but not exactly knowing why he felt this way?

"Well in that case, let's go have some fun. Your last night in the wasteland!" Jericho announced, well aware that James was starting to be convinced.

"Fine…just don't get us killed." James reluctantly said, running his hand through his hair as he spoke.

"No promises" Jericho said, as he began walking ahead of James, causing James to chase after him.

"What's this place called anyways?" James asked, catching up with the old raider.

"Evergreen Mills." Jericho answered, leading James to what was no doubt the deepest darkest hole in the ground that could fit a bunch of raiders.

As they approached Evergreen Mills, James heard the scream of a creature he was all too familiar with. Grabbing Jericho by the arm, James stood in silence for a moment, raising a finger to hush Jericho as he waited for another indication of the scream. If it was what he thought it was, they were in much bigger trouble than they thought they were. Pulling free of James's grip, Jericho glared at the kid for a minute before rolling his eyes and walking forward towards their destination. James saw as they approached, raiders watching them and their every move from the cliffs. James felt his hand twitch, as he approached the mills surrounded by danger. As they approached a large gate, a loud scream caused James to grab his rifle and aim in all directions. Like a domino effect, all the raiders in the area drew their weapons on James and Jericho as the monstrous scream bellowed through the air. With his hands in the air, Jericho looked around at the young faced raiders surrounding them.

"WHOA! Calm the fuck down." Jericho shouted, as James continued to aim his rifle in many different directions.

James knew that sound too well, and he wasn't about to be killed this close to his father without putting up a hell of a fight.

"What the fuck is wrong with you kid?" Jericho asked, as James felt his metallic arm twitch.

"It's a behemoth, Jericho. It's gonna kill us all if we don't get the fuck out of here!" James shouted, as he continued looking for his target.

All of a sudden laughter broke out among the raiders surrounding them. James assumed it was from kind of community drug induced hysteria. Each of them laughing heavier than the next as James lowered his rifle. Jericho nudged James hard in the ribs, causing him to bend over in pain. The roar of the behemoth continued to soar through the rock formation surrounding the mills, almost dwarfing the laughter that surrounded the two strangers.

"Jericho, their starting to piss me off. What's so fucking funny?" James asked, as he glared at the men surrounding them. Jericho was quick to slap James over the head, before walking ahead of him and through the crowd.

"Put your fucken rifle down and follow me." Jericho snapped, as James lowered his rifle and began rubbing his head.

"That fucking hurt!" James whispered, following Jericho through the crowd.

"Good. See kid, you're lucky that they know me around these parts." Jericho said, reminding the kid that he was not in charge while they were here.

"You're lucky I'm not going to kill you for that." James said walking into the centre of Evergreen Mills.

"Whatever. You see that big fucken cage?" Jericho asked, pointing towards the large cage in beside the entrance to the Mill.

"Yeah?" James said, as he heard the monstrous scream again.

"They keep the big bastard in there. It's electrified so the asshole can't get out without breaking the generator. And we won't be doing that will we?" Jericho explained, moving towards the entrance again.

"Sure…whatever." James responded, feeling like a complete idiot, but also afraid of the consequences if that thing got out.

"Follow me; I got some shit to show you." Jericho laughed as he walked through the door into Evergreen Mills.

As the entered the dark and dimly lit cavern, James heard the loud cheers of men who were clearly drunk and high at the same time. He had heard cheers like this before, but that was in a place he never wanted to remember again, Jericho smiled at he looked around, and seemed to enjoy the dangerous atmosphere of the place they had found themselves in. Nodding forward, Jericho motioned James to follow him, and being in completely unknown territory James decided to follow the old raider. As they walked over the unconscious and overdosed, James's nostrils stung with a variety of unpleasant smells as he stepped through the renovated cavern. He had to admit, despite its people and smells; the place was actually really impressive. The fact that a bunch of drugged out of their mind raiders were capable of building something like this, even if it was simplistic in some places. Jericho stopped, and lifted his head up smelled the air.

"Oh fuck…" Jericho said enthusiasm in his tone as he moved quickly following his nose.

"What?" James said, following behind Jericho.

"You smell that?" Jericho asked, sniffing the air as James suddenly got the horrible stench.

"Oh fuck. What is that?" James asked, the smell stinging his nostrils.

"Over here." Jericho announced, rushing off ahead of James following the horrible stench like a dog in search for something.

Jericho had led James to what seemed like the eating area of the structure, and in it sat more dangerous looking individuals than James wanted to count. Each of them eating or gnawing away at whatever food was before them that they could afford. Jericho pushed through the crowd, swearing and insulting anyone who questioned him on his actions. Following closely behind him, James said nothing to anyone he pushed through, not having the time or patience to deal with these people. His only goal right now was to get Jericho, find a safe place to sleep and get the fuck out of this place. Jericho came rushing back with what looked like meat wrapped up in old paper, most likely that wasn't even clean. Handing James one, Jericho wasted no time digging in, ripping into the meat with his yellow teeth, a satisfying grin on his face as he ate.

"Eat up, kid." Jericho said his mouth full with the brown meat as he spoke.

Cautiously, James put the meat in his mouth and took a small bite of it. This clearly was the source of the horrible stench that filled the air, and looked browner than any meat he had seen before. It was tender and its juices exploded in his mouth as he took a bite. To James's surprise it tasted much better than it looked and smelled, and he quickly took a larger bite of the meat as Jericho handed him a bottle of beer. He couldn't believe how good this tasted.

"This is amazing." James said his mouth full of drool as he took another bite.

"Ya like it, huh?" Jericho asked, smiling at James as he watched the kid devour the flesh wrapped in old paper.

"It's great! What is it?" James asked, drinking the beer to wash down the meat.

"Radroach." Jericho said, causing James to pause for a moment.

James wasn't sure if he had heard that right or not. Did Jericho just say he was eating one of those disgusting insects that he used to shoot in the vault? The creatures that basically repulsed James to the core, were what James was eating? Taking a heavy swallow of the meat in his mouth, James looked at Jericho with wide eyes.

"Radroach?" James repeated, burping uncontrollably as he looked towards Jericho.

"Did I fucking stutter?" Jericho asked, as James took a hard look at the meat.

"I am eating Radroach meat?" James asked in disbelief, as Jericho nodded.

"It's not bad…" James said, disgusted in himself but also really enjoying the meat. Devouring the rest of it, James followed Jericho towards what looked like the bar area.

Sitting at the table, faced with a dirty glass of whiskey and a warm beer, James found the whole place far too familiar for his liking. It wasn't exactly like the Pitt, but there were still some parts of it that brought old memories out of hiding, much to his displeasure. The sounds, the smells, and the company all reminded him of those nights where he wasn't sure whether or not he was going to see another day. The nights he prayed to whoever was listening, to end his suffering as quickly as possible. Most of all, however, it reminded him of just how much he had gone through to come here. To be so close to finding his father, and ending what had been a long nightmare. To make matters worse, he hoped the taste of Radroach would be soon gone out of his mouth despite the fact it was a rather pleasant taste. There was just something about having a piece of that bug in his mouth that made him uncomfortable. However, he wasn't going to spit out what was essentially a good meal, after all good food was hard to come by in the wasteland so who cared where it came from. That's one of the reasons he never liked asking where his food came from, as he may not have liked the answer.

Jericho snapped his fingers in front of James's face, snapping him out of his distracting memories and back to reality. James shook his head and drank greedily from the dirty glass, downing the whiskey quickly before Jericho. He let out a loud cough as the alcohol burnt down his throat. It was strong, that was damn sure. Jericho laughed loudly, as he poured another glass for James, bringing a smile to the young man's face. James would never forget Jericho when he got home, back to Vault 101. He wouldn't forget him, or Charon, or anyone of those that saved his ass up to now. The people he owed so much to. It was at this moment that James saw the lights of the bar focus on a cage, with a performer inside of it.

She came out of the cage, and slowly began gyrating her body to the radio played over the speakers. She was skilled that was for sure, and somewhat alluring. Wearing next to nothing as she stepped over the counter, and then across the tables as if she were the queen of the Mills. James was shocked as the men that filled the already cramped bar stayed quiet as she approached his table. Standing before James on the narrow table, she dropped down to her knees and smirked wickedly at him, staring into his eyes as she bit on her lower lip. James gulped and decided now would be a good time to take a long drink of his whiskey, just so he could stop looking at the woman before him. On all fours now before him, she growled playfully at him as she crawled towards him, her ass swaying as she crawled towards him like a predator to its prey. Getting back on her knees before James, she took a hold of his whiskey and taking a large mouthful, looked down at James with sultry stare. James was motionless as she grabbed him and kissed him, feeding the alcohol to James with a kiss before pushing away from him. James felt a strange mix of disgust, shame, lust and desire as she pulled away from him. It was at this moment, James heard the crowd cheer in amusement and jealousy over what had just happened. Getting back to her feet, she continued to sway along to the music, her movements almost hypnotic as she moved away from the bewildered James and back to the cage she came from. The music was slowly coming to its end as she got back into the cage, and sat down. As the music ended, the bar exploded with sounds of applause and cheers.

"NOW THAT'S A FUCKING SHOW!" Jericho announced, standing to his feet and clapping his hands in appreciation. James looked past the crowd and saw the woman exit the cage as the woman was given a shot of psycho and some jet, and lead to what James assumed was her living quarters.

"That's…what was that?" James asked, wiping his lips on his sleeve.

"You shouldn't worry about it, kid." Jericho said, smiling as he took a drink of his beer.

"What the hell was that?" James asked, now needing to know why the girl was drugged directly after her performance.

"Entertainment…" Jericho responded, a smile crossing his face.

"That's fucking slavery!" James shouted as he stood up, causing a bottle fall and shatter on the ground from the table. The breaking bottled caused the whole bar to pause and stare in silence at James. Jericho quickly grabbed James arm and pulled him back down into his seat.

"Their drugging them up and using them as slaves, Jericho. It's sick!" James barked, letting everyone in the bar know his feelings.

"Are you fucking crazy!?" Jericho hissed, glaring at James in the eyes as he spoke.

"Yeah, but I don't fucking like slaves!" James responded, pulling his arm free of Jericho's grip.

"Look, kid, we are outnumbered 100-1, and you're giving a shit about some junkie that just made out with you?!" Jericho asked, downing his drink before looking back towards James.

"There are no saints here, kid. Only sinners live here." Jericho said, as James felt something press into his back.

James froze, as he recognised the sensation of the blade tip pressing against his back. He knew if he moved an inch, his attacker would drive that blade deep into his back. Taking a deep breath, James grabbed his glass and saw Jericho had eyes on the attacker. Gulping down the drink, James clinched his fists and slowly rested his hands on the table.

"You got a big mouth on you, boy. Did you know that?" The raider said, as James's eyes darted down at his pistol. Any sudden movements and he would be dead. The only hope he had left was that Jericho would do something. In other words, he was screwed.

"It's come up in conversation before…" James responded, putting on a fake smile as he spoke.

"Wonder if you talk so big with a knife in your back." The attacker said his tone serious and twisted. James noticed Jericho bending over in his seat, before sitting back up straight and looking at James's attacker.

"You're gonna step away from the kid, understand?" Jericho threatened, standing up from his seat causing the raider to dig the knife deeper into James's back. James could feel the knife finally breaking the skin and drawing blood.

"Or what?" The raider asked, eyeing Jericho up and down.

"Or, I'm gonna slice your throat clean open." Jericho responded, before slashing forward at the raider. James felt the blood erupt from the man's throat, spraying across the table and himself. The weapon Jericho used was still held in his hand, a broken piece of glass now wet with blood. This victory was short lived as Jericho grabbed James moved as quickly as he could towards the bar. Leaping behind the bar, they narrowly missed the barrage of bullets that followed them.

"Jesus Christ!" James shouted, as shards of glass starting raining down around the two.

"Now this is a fucking party!" Jericho shouted, as he loaded his machine gun a wicked smile on his face.

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 _ **A/N: So couple of things to point out here.**_

 _ **1\. They are not killed on sight because Jericho is a veteran to certain Raider Groups. Plus as I stated, Jericho made it a habit to drop in to the Mills now and again. So he is known to some of the Raiders there. Thus, is not killed on sight.**_

 _ **2\. The Mutant bit was something I always like to bring up now and again. Behemoths are fucking scary man, I mean you got nothing but a rifle and grenades and your fucked. Also, keep in mind I have said James's back has been broken by one of those things, so yes he is a little jumpy around them.**_

 _ **3\. The Radroach meat thing always seemed like something a Vault dweller would try to avoid eating, especially after Vault 101's big bug outbreak during the escape mission. I also dont see it being in demand as much around the other settlements. Raiders, on the other hand, I have no problem seeing them eat it. James hasnt tried any before this moment, because he found the idea of eating one disgusting. Until he actually ate one and found he enjoyed it.**_

 _ **4\. The dancer is something I wanted to bring in for the fact that raiders are assholes sure, but they dont like to be called slavers or even being associated with slavery. So when James discovers their drugging her as entertainment he makes the connection and makes a few enemies as a result.**_

 _ **5\. Things escalate so quickly in the end there because I wrote the end 4 times but didnt feel shocked and appalled raiders fit in with the whole characterization of what we know as Raiders. The guys that basically shoot first, ask questions later. However, something needs to set them off and just like any other place in the game, if you kill one of them they all turn on you.**_

 ** _Well I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of One Night in Evergreen Mills. Remember to R &R and I'll see you all soon._**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here is perhaps one of the more action packed stories I have done in some time. Here we see James and Jericho pinned down in the caverns of Evergreen Mills, after the events of the last chapter. Will they escape? Will they Survive? Lets find out. Remember to Read & Review. **

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James covered his head as bullets flew overhead, and glass rained down on them. Jericho was waiting patiently for the bullets to stop before lifting his head over the counter and opening fire with his machine gun.

"GET SOME!" Jericho screamed, unloading his rifle into the crowd attacking them.

Ducking back into his original position Jericho loaded his rifle carefully, a concerned look on his face as he looked towards James. James hadn't moved since the firelight began. The reason for this was that he hadn't come so far just to die here, especially when he was so close to reuniting with his father. Looking towards the corpse of the bartender, who was the first casualty of this barrage of bullets, James noticed a shotgun cradled in his arms. James knew this man's death was his entire fault for acting up, and opening his big fucking mouth. This man's blood was on James's hands, and no amount of apologies would make up for that. He found himself smiling, as the realisation he was thinking this way about some asshole who worked for raiders seeped in. This guy probably supplied half of the drugs and booze to the dirty bastards, and here James was feeling sorry about getting him killed.

"KID!" Jericho shouted, catching James's attention.

"Yeah?" James shouted, turning towards Jericho.

"You gonna fight, or you gonna sit on your ass?" Jericho shouted, as he fiddled with his rifle.

"Maybe. What the fuck do you care?!" James asked, getting his rifle ready before taking a deep breath.

Jericho was right; James couldn't sit here and expect him to do all the work when it was his fault they were in this mess. If he had kept his big mouth shut, then they wouldn't be in this situation. Well if he was being honest, it probably would have ended up the same way regardless. They would probably have picked a fight with some asshole after a few drinks, and they would have found themselves in the same situation. Standing up, James unleashed four shots out into the crowd of approaching raiders. They were getting closer, and despite being surrounded by what seemed like supplies, James wasn't sure if he had the time to start searching for another weapon.

"My rifle is fucked, kid. It's fucking useless, now." Jericho shouted, flinging his rifle across the bar.

"Picked a hell of a time to do that!" James shouted, getting to his feet and firing a few rounds at their attackers. Each bullet hit its target with deadly precision, killing them on impact.

"Tell me about it!" Jericho shouted, as James looked towards the shotgun that once belonged to the bartender.

"The shotgun!" James shouted, nodding towards the corpse of the Bartender as he reloaded his rifle. Scurrying towards the corpse, Jericho grabbed the gun and turned the safety off as James unloaded another couple of rounds into the approaching wave of raiders. Checking the rounds, he smiled as he found a full clip and a few boxes of ammo under the counter.

"This looks like it's gonna cause some damage!" Jericho shouted in glee, standing up and lining up his shot.

*Click*

Both men didn't have time to question why the gun didn't fire, as they leapt to the ground to avoid another incoming wave of bullets. Jericho didn't understand what the hell was happening, as he was sure he had the safety off. So why the hell wouldn't the fucking shotgun fire? Pulling the trigger a few more times, he looked towards James and aimed the shotgun at him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" James asked, slapping the shotgun away from him. Jericho quickly aimed the shotgun back at James and pulled the trigger.

*Click*

"This fucking thing isn't working!" Jericho shouted, still gripping the shotgun.

"If it did, I'd be fucking dead right now!" James shouted, as his breath quickened.

"No you don't get it. Jack used to fucken spout all this bullshit about how this thing could cause a fuck tonne of damage, but it doesn't even fire!" Jericho shouted, slapping the shotgun a couple of times while he continued to pull the trigger on the gun.

"Great! We are outgunned, outnumbered, and fucked! Maybe try turning the safety on!" James shouted sarcastically, standing up but with his attention on Jericho did not see the knife coming towards him that dug into his shoulder.

James shouted in pain as he fell back towards the ground. He found himself asking, "Why do they always get the good arm?" As three raiders climbed on top of the bar, Jericho took James's advice and turned the safety on before pulling the trigger. The thunderous shot erupted through the caverns amongst the gunfire, bellowing louder than any of the shots firing. The three men that were targeted were sent flying off the counter and half way across the room, long dead before they hit the ground. Jericho stared in awe at the shotgun that had just killed three men at once.

"HOLY FUCK!" Jericho shouted a large smile on his face.

"I FUCKING LOVE THIS GUN!" Jericho shouted, standing up and unloading another couple of rounds into the now retreating raiders. Jericho was letting out a sadistic laughter as the raiders ran from the power of his shotgun.

"Why don't we get you and your new gun a fucking room when we get the hell out of here?" James shouted, as he pulled the knife out of his shoulder swearing to himself in pain.

"Kid, if this was a woman…"

"Gonna stop you right there, Jericho. I don't want to know." James responded, not wanting to hear what Jericho would do.

"Wait…do you hear that?" Jericho asked, as a distinct familiar whirling sound filled the air.

"Sounds like….Oh shit!" James shouted, as both men ducked as low as they could. The sound was familiar to both, and was a preferred weapon among the Outcasts of the Brotherhood of Steel. This weapon was a mini-gun. The heavy barrage of bullets was shredding everything around them once it began firing, as James gripped his already bleeding wound. They were in deep trouble now; as if they got into the line of sight of that thing they would be torn apart. The only downside to the weapon was that it would overheat after emptying a clip and couldn't be used for a couple of seconds. Not nearly enough time for both of them to jump the counter and rush towards the group of raiders without getting killed.

"How the fuck do we get out of this?!" James shouted, glaring over at Jericho.

Suddenly, a smile crossed Jericho's face, something that both worried James and caused a shiver to run up his spine. James knew he wasn't going to like what was about to come out of the old raiders mouth, but Jericho didn't give a shit whether or not James liked it. Grabbing a bottle of vodka and an old rag, Jericho proceeded to pull the cap of the bottle off with his teeth.

"Is this really the time for a fucking drink, Jericho?" James asked, as more bullets whizzed past their heads.

"Shut it! Does that arm come off?" Jericho asked, the cap hanging from his mouth secured by his teeth.

"What? Yeah? Wait what the fuck are you planning?" James asked, not liking where the hell this was going.

"Got a light? Jericho asked, causing James to raise an eyebrow.

The mini gun emptied its clip, and was now red hot due to its overheating. There were about 15 of their men dead, but there was a lot more where that came from ready to get payback on the bastards responsible. They were going to rip them apart slowly, piece by piece. Suddenly, something was thrown from the other side of the bar, and was immediately fired upon. It was an arm. Completely harmless to the raiders, but did provide the distraction needed for what came next. From behind the bar came four bottles, each carrying a destructive purpose. As the bottle hit the raiders, they erupted into flames causing the men around the minigun to panic in pain and fear. Smoke filled the area around them, choking those who were not burning.

"If I die tonight because of you, I'm gonna kill you!" a voice shouted from behind the bar, as a shadowy figure rushed towards the crowd of raiders.

A blade glistened in its hand, as it proceeded to slash the throat of any raider that wasn't burning. Rolling across the ground to avoid the panicked fire from those who were too far from the figure to kill with its knife, it quickly picked up an assault rifle and fired it into the crowd. Kicking over some tables as fast as he could, it turned back towards the bar.

"NOW!" James shouted, as Jericho leapt over the bar still holding the shotgun.

James slapped and patted down the parts of his outfit that were now on fire with one arm, his breathing heavy as Jericho rushed towards his position. Jericho knew that if they lifted their heads from behind the bar, the raiders would open fire on them. He also knew that they would fire the first thing that popped out from where they were hiding. So, in a rare act of genius, Jericho decided to use what they had at their disposal. James was the best choice to go out and kill any stragglers in front of the bar, as without his arm he was much faster on his feet and deadlier with a knife. The reason this was, was because the arm itself was pretty heavy. It was after all a giant piece of metal he had to attach to his body, or as its creator often called it "a hardwired masterpiece of cybernetics". James had mixed feeling taking off his metallic arm, as on the one hand he loved the cold air on the stub that once was his arm, but on the other, he hated the hassle of putting the arm back on. This time however, he knew it was their only option. The stench of blood filled the air. The two were now surrounded by the dead raiders that dropped first, but more importantly their weapons. Jericho threw James a needle containing med-x, which James clumsily caught as he picked up his metallic arm. Ramming the needle into his arm, James grunted as he felt the effects soon come over him. He quickly re-attached his arm, feeling the pain flow through his body.

"FUCK!" James screamed, as he knew he had probably messed up on re-attaching the arm. Maybe he didn't use enough med-x, or maybe he put it on too fast. All he knew was, it hurt like hell. It was like a hundred little needles made of flame were pricking his shoulder all at once.

"You okay, sweetie?" Jericho asked pure condescension in his tone as he threw the minigun from across the room behind them.

"How many left?" James asked, his heavy breathing displayed just how much his last action took out of him.

"Too many…at least if we are not gonna use grenades." Jericho said, as James slowly got to his feet.

"We are in a cave, Jericho. We throw grenades, we cause a cave in. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on dying tonight!" James barked.

"Then we're fucked!" Jericho said, as James noticed a smile cross the old raiders face.

"You're enjoying this?!" James shouted, shocked at the old raiders amusement.

"Of fucking course I am. If I'm going out, I'm going out fighting!" Jericho shouted, as both men heard the footsteps of approaching attackers. No time to load his gun, James reached out to grab the nearest blunt object he could to swing.

Grabbing a pool cue, James lunged around the corner swinging the cue hard into the head of one of the raiders. The sound of the snapping cue echoed silently through the cavern, as James lunged the broken half still in his hand into the chest of the raider behind his first victim. Quickly, Jericho unloaded two shells into the rest of the incoming raiders. Both men took deep heavy breaths, as they looked around at the remaining raiders surrounding them.

"Well…fuck….Any ideas?" James wheezed, adrenaline flushing through his body as he gripped the butt of his rifle. Besides his rifle and knife, James had a small pistol he kept on hand in the event he ran out of ammo.

"Shoot the shit out of them; leave none of the bastards alive?" Jericho wheezed, coughing heavily causing James to turn towards him with a smile.

"Shit…that's a bit unfair. They don't stand a chance." James said, smiling towards the old raider.

"Now you're speaking my language kid, let's fuck them up!" Jericho responded.

"Oh… are you going to help?" James smirked, pushing his back towards that of the old raiders.

"Of fucken course! Not gonna let you have all the fun, kid." Jericho smiled, loading the shotgun he had just acquired.

"So how's this sound? I'll take the twenty on the right; you take the twenty on the left?" James asked a smile on his face, before quickly feeling an elbow dig into his back.

"Fuck you; I'll take down whoever the fuck gets in my way." Jericho smirked, aiming his shotgun into the crowd approaching them.

Both men began to roar as they ran in opposite directions, firing their weapons at any incoming enemies as they looked for cover. James slid behind the pool table, as Jericho ducked behind a large stalagmite. Unloading another couple of shells into an oncoming crowd, Jericho let out a sadistic laugh causing James to smile widely as he unloaded a couple of shells of his own. Both men ducked behind their respective cover, as bullets continued to fly quickly past them. James felt a bullet whip past his face, causing a small cut to open on his cheek. It stung like hell, but it was better than a bullet to the skull that was sure. He doubted anyone could survive getting shot in the head, and continue on after that. James dwelled on this for too long, as soon he found himself getting a hard kick in the face. His body hit the ground hard, as he looked towards his attacker. There were two of them, and neither of them looked very pleased to see him. Taking aim on James, they opened fire. James, thinking as fast as he could, rolled under the pool table to avoid their bullets. Pulling out his knife, James stabbed one of his attackers in the leg before pulling out his pistol and shooting both men in their kneecaps. It didn't kill them, but James knew it hurt like hell, and for what it was worth they weren't going to be alive much longer to worry about the pain. James rolled out on the other side of the table, and proceeded to unload the remaining bullets in the clip into the men he just assaulted. Having no time to congratulate himself, James reloaded and turned around to open fire on the remaining attackers. Jericho was having much less trouble with his group, as he was not concentrating on anything but the horde of raiders approaching him. Blasting holes into them one after another, they fell to the ground like the sacks of shit they were. Any that got too close to the old raider got smacked with the butt of his shotgun, before being blasted back into the men following him. Just as it seemed they were gaining the upper hand, the unthinkable happened, and James' gun jammed. In what was the longest three seconds of his life, James took a shot to his chest causing him to drop his pistol. He looked down at the wound as blood began seeping out of it. It wasn't long before he took two more shots in the shoulder and back in the chest, causing James to drop to his knees, holding his wounds as raiders approached him. Blood ran from his mouth, as James looked out into the horde of his attackers. Seeing this, Jericho fired rounds into the horde approaching James, before pulling the pin of a grenade out with his teeth and shoving it into an approaching raider's shirt just as he kicked the raider into the group behind him. Jericho rushed towards his fallen companion, killing off the remaining raiders as the grenade went off, bringing rubble down on those who were not blown to pieces as a result of the explosion.

"Kid! Don't fucking die on me!" Jericho barked as he applied pressure to the wounds with one hand.

"How…how fucking bad is it?" James gasped, as he choked on his own blood. He clearly taken a bullet to his lungs, and needed something to fix it fast otherwise he was going to die.

"Pretty fucking bad!" Jericho responded, pulling his knife out.

"I'm going to kick your ass if I die…." James responded, smiling as Jericho took a deep breath.

"If I give you a stimpack…It's only gonna fix your chest." Jericho explained, his knife digging into James' wound to dig out the slug. That was the trouble with stimpacks, they healed the wound but if there was a slug in it had to be taken out. That was always the hard uncomfortable part.

"So…I bleed to death anyways?" James grunted, a bloody smile on his face as Jericho dug out one of the slugs.

"Only if you're a pussy. Look…this is gonna hurt like hell!" Jericho said, digging the knife into the next wound searching for the bullet.

"FUCK!" James grunted, showcasing just how gentle Jericho was not being.

"Oooh poor baby!" Jericho responded, as he took great care taking the slug out of James' chest. Taking it out, Jericho quickly jammed a stimpack into James's chest, the serum worked fast as the wound began to close.

Jericho took out a shotgun shell and opened it up, pouring the gun powder on the two wounds that didn't close. This was a raider trick, which Jericho knew from his old days, for fixing up wounds when there wasn't a stimpack on hand. It wasn't comfortable, but it was very effective. The next step was igniting the powder, and that part always hurt like hell. Taking out James's lighter from his pocket, Jericho ignited the powder. The bang that followed was loud, but not as loud as the scream James let out when the wound was burnt shut.

"Fuck that hurt!" James grunted as Jericho dragged him over to the wall.

"Come on, don't be such a pussy." Jericho responded, as he sat down next to James and poured a bottle of vodka on the wounds. James grunted in pain at the disinfectant, as Jericho chuckled in sadistic amusement.

James sat next to Jericho, his breathing heavy and body weak. He could feel the stimpack do its work, as Jericho lit a cigarette and began smoking. James looked at his pip-boy and saw it was 12 am. Weakly, James pulled a cigarette out of his own pocket and yanked his lighter back from Jericho. Getting up, Jericho walked away towards the bar. He returned moments later with two bottles of whiskey, handing one to James as he sat back down beside him. Both men sat there, smoking and drinking from their respectful bottles without saying a word to each other.

"I didn't think I was going to die like this…." James said, taking a swig of his whiskey before taking another drag of his cigarette.

"Stop being talking like a dumbass. You're not gonna die." Jericho barked, taking a long drink.

"You could have at least given me some Med-x for the pain." James said, rubbing the charred flesh that moments ago were open.

"Yeah, well I didn't count on you being such a bitch." Jericho responded, laughing to himself.

"So...that was a hell of a fucking shoot out!" James said, laughing to himself as he looked towards Jericho.

"Fuck yeah it was….but it aint over yet." Jericho responded glee in his voice as he spoke.

"What the hell do you mean? We are caved in thanks to that dumb grenade of yours." James stated, looking towards Jericho with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, but those fucks aint gonna let us go now, and they certainly won't give up all the booze, ammo, and drugs they got in here." Jericho explained, as James took a deep breath.

"So how long do you think we got before those assholes get through the debris?" James asked, looking towards the debris blocking the entrance/exit to the cavern.

"Couple of hours, I guess. But when they break through, there's gonna be a fuck tonne of them." Jericho explained, before letting a large puff of smoke escape his lips.

"So….what we need…is a plan." James responded, smiling wickedly at Jericho.

* * *

 **A/N 2: So a couple of things I wanted to point out about this chapter to avoid a couple of angry Pms and to show connections to some of my other stories:**

 **1\. Jericho vanilla weapon was the Chinese assault rifle, but from the very start I have mentioned he used the Terrible Shotgun. So in this story we see how and why Jericho came into possession of the shotgun.**

 **2\. The safety on/off of the shotgun has been a thing since Homeward Bound and was really just one of the reasons I could think of giving it its namesake of "The Terrible Shotgun".**

 **3\. Thanks to F04 for nerfing the minigun, I was able to come up with a solid reason to make the minigun bit work.**

 **4\. The arm thing is a reference to Megaton Stories, in which during his tale Jericho mentions that they used the arm as a distraction.**

 **5\. James being lighter on his feet has always been the case, since I could hardly think having a lump of metal attached to you makes you faster. James has to stay strong in order to cope with his large heavy limb, which seeing as I have mentioned hes quick on his feet with it on, should tell you just how much faster he is with it off.**

 **6\. Stimpacks cannot heal a wound if theres a bullet in it, that just doesnt make sense to me. So yes you have to dig it out. And even then, without a few stimpacks your not 100% likely to survive. Hence the gunpowder trick for closing wound. Side note, another example of James's scars.**

 **7\. The Grenade in the cavern causing a collapse made sense to me, since physics!**

 **8\. The ending point there, with the two just enjoying a smoke and each others company made me smile when writing it.**

 **9\. Next chapter I will be putting the pregnant woman scene. So you have been forewarned.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you all in the future.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here we are, the moment you may have read about in Megaton Stories. The Pregnant woman scene. Now mind you this is one of the harder and most "pushing it" parts of the story since it does involve some pretty dark themes. If you dont know what I am talking about, well prepare for a hell of a ride as we are now nearing the end to the story. Remember to Read and Review so I know you liked the story.**

* * *

They sat for another hour, laughing and joking about old times, as if they hadn't a care in the world. This is what both men would have considered a great night for the two of them, were it not for the fact there was an army of raiders out for their blood on the other side of the rubble.

"You're still the luckiest bastard in the world, ya know?" Jericho said laughing to himself, as James turned to him with a smirk.

"Bullshit! You survived way more than I have old man!" James responded, taking a long drink of his whiskey.

"Age aint got shit to do with being lucky, Kid. Shit, I'd say the lucky guys die young so they don't have to deal with the shit that comes with being alive!" Jericho responded a grim look on his face as he spoke.

"Way to fucking ruin the moment…" James said, throwing the empty bottle into the darkness of the cavern. He was waiting to hear the smash of the bottle, before he got to his feet to get another one.

"Just being honest, Kid." Jericho responded, as he looked gloomily into the cavern below. James, seeing this, decided to lighten the mood.

"Remember that shoot out in the old Springvale School?" James asked, smiling down at Jericho.

"You mean when I saved your ass from those ants?" Jericho asked, looking up at James.

"Oh, looks like age or booze is affecting your memory, Jericho. Because I seem to recall, back at that school, saving your ass from those ants." James said, smiling down at his comrade as he spoke.

"You're fucking crazy! That ant had you where it wanted you, all defenceless and screaming 'Help me! Help me!' Like the little bitch you are!" Jericho responded, making a less than impressive impression of James that sounded more like a girl than him. Whether this was intentional or not, James wasn't sure.

"Oh no no no! If I recall, it was on top of you because you tripped and fell down into its nest and it saw its opportunity. You were all like 'Kid! Help me kid!' I mean it looked like it was either trying to eat you, or fuck you! I thought you were about to piss your pants!" James laughed, doing his own impression of Jericho. In a split second, Jericho was to his feet glaring into James' eyes.

"You want me to kill you before those bastards get the chance?" Jericho asked, his threat met with the smart ass smile of his young companion.

"You can sure as hell try… But I think it would be a lot more fun to get our shit together and start getting ready for those cocksuckers to break through that rubble." James responded, motioning his head towards the blockade Jericho had caused.

"Good point..." Jericho responded, lighting another cigarette as he looked towards James.

"Any ideas?" Jericho asked, as James scratched his head.

"Three. Two involve us going out in a blaze of glory, dying like heroes but torn to shreds in a sea of bullets…" James began, looking towards the rubble.

"So die like a pussy? No thanks. What's the third?" Jericho asked, raising an eyebrow to James.

"We give them a taste of their own medicine." James smirked, patting Jericho on his back before running away from the raider.

"THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN?" Jericho shouted at the young man, confused and scratching his head.

"MORE FUCKING GRENADES?!" Jericho asked, his voice bellowing out in the caverns as he called after James.

"NO! NO MORE GRENADES!" James shouted back, leaving Jericho wondering what he had planned. He did know it was going to be fucking good, whatever it was.

It was 2:44am when the raiders finally broke through the barricade and found…nothing. No sign of the intruders, just a bunch of dead raiders littering the ground with various wounds on their bodies and some broken bottles down at the bottom of the cliff. Each of the raiders who entered the caverns knew that they weren't dealing with the usual wasteland douchebags. These guys were serious. They hadn't taken more than five steps when a thunderous buckshot killed three of them, and sent a wave of fear rushing through those who were still alive's bodies. The attacker made sure he was seen, and ran around the corner of the bar area after flipping the group of raiders off. Those dumb enough to run head first, soon found themselves blasted back into the group that followed them. The men had set up traps to thin out the more headstrong or feral raiders, but the problem with this kind of trap was that they only fell for it once.

"HEY ASSHOLES! YOU COMING FOR ME, OR DO I GOT ENOUGH TIME TO JERK OFF BEFORE YOU PUSSYS COME GET ME?!" The old man shouted, as the raiders shared a dazed look with each other. Some wanted to run, others wanted blood.

"I'm waiting ladies!" He shouted, as some of the raiders shared a glance with each other.

"You guys head outside and get ready in case we don't make it out." The leader said, as five of the raiders happily ran out of the caverns.

The remaining raiders cautiously stepped into the caverns, unaware of what waited them inside the once familiar cavern. They continued into the cavern, and slowly approached the pool table where there apparently had been some kind of brawl. Two dead raiders and a lot of blood was all that was left of the fighters. One of the men approached a body slowly, from the look of sadness on his face it was someone he had been close to. As he knelt down, a horrifying beeping sound began to ring out. There was no time to react before the mine exploded; sending what was left of his body catapulting away into pieces. They all heard the sadistic laughter of the old man from the bar, and as if by instinct charged into the cramped passage. Sitting at the bar, smiling at the men entering the small area, the old man aimed the shotgun at the generator and pulled the trigger, causing the entire cavern to become enveloped in darkness. Each of the raiders who had followed the old man into bar area, soon were met with an unpleasant and familiar sound. The whirling sound that a minigun made before it fired. Blind in the dark, they could only hope that their attacker was as blind as they were. They were wrong. Each of them were mowed down, their bodies were ripped to shreds by the barrage of shells coming from the minigun. With his victims dead, James threw the minigun on the ground and marched over to Jericho.

The plan was simple; James would hide in the shadows when the raiders broke through disguised as one of them, a boogieman hood on to make sure he wasn't recognised. He would stay at the back, so he wasn't recognized. Not that it was likely anyone would question a fresh face around here; most of the residents were drugged up half the time and the other half brawling. Nobody really got to know one another, only got to know their reputations. At least that's what Jericho said, but just in case, James felt the mask was necessary. After this, he was to lead them to the bar area and mow the bastards down once Jericho hit the lights. In order to see in the dark, Jericho prescribed something called cat eye, which James found gave him better vision in the dark. Were it not for his scars, James would have surely been found out to be an imposter, after all no raider was free of scars. What James wasn't prepared for was the mine Jericho had apparently set when he wasn't paying attention. Not only did this put him at risk, but it put the whole plan at risk, just because Jericho wanted to cause more damage than necessary. That being said, it did get the guys in the bar a hell of a lot faster than if James had just been leading them there. Jericho's job was simple, get their attention and lead them to the bar, after which hit the lights and take cover.

"Jericho?" James shouted, as he stepped towards the bar.

"You're not dead are you?" James asked, as he moved closer to the counter.

"Of fucking course not, just hooking up a new generator for the lights." Jericho said, hooking up the cable to the generator.

"WAIT DON'T DO-"

It was too late for objections, as the lights blasted on blinding James in the process. James covered his eyes, as he felt the lights intensity burn his eyes. It was like staring into the sun with a telescope, or at least that's how it felt to him. Covering his eyes with his arm, James felt anger swell up inside of him as he grunted in pain.

"Oh right…the cat eye….forgot about that." Jericho said, guiding James to his target with this sound of his voice. He was going to kick the shit out of Jericho for turning on the lights. His eyes hurt like hell now, and Jericho showed no sign of sympathy in his tone.

"You fucking bastard. This really fucking hurts!" James shouted, trying desperately to keep his eyes shielded from the light. Seeing the sun when he left the Vault the first time didn't hurt this damn bad.

"Yeah…I know kid. It should wear off any second now." Jericho explained, as he started walking towards the Lone Wanderer.

He was right, almost instantly after it was said the blue tint faded from James' sight and his normal vision returned. Slowly, James lowered his arm from his eyes and blinked heavily as he took in the area around him, corpses and all. Glaring at Jericho, he gritted his teeth as he clinched his fist.

"You couldn't have fucking waited?" James asked, pulling the hood off his head and revealing his pissed off face.

"Nah…patience aint something I'm known for ya know?" Jericho said, a wicked smile connecting both his ears.

"What was with that fucking mine?" James asked, his tone showing annoyance.

"I was bored with your little traps, so I set one of my own." Jericho responded.

"You're a fucking asshole, you know that?" James asked his face grim as he spoke and looked over the corpses.

"Yeah…look I know that hurts like hell, so I'll tell you what. You get one free shot." Jericho said, causing James to stop and turn towards the old raider with a look of confusion.

"What?" James asked, making sure he heard the old raider right.

"You get one free shot at me. No hard feelings, we all square then." Jericho explained, as James raised an eyebrow towards him.

"Your letting me hit you? Hard as I want?" James asked, a smile crossing his face.

"Sure, just-"

Jericho was quickly interrupted by a swift right hook slamming into his face, causing him to scream in pain as the noise of bone cracking echoed through the cavern. Jericho held his nose, as blood began to drip out of it. Jericho was grunting and groaning in pain, as he staggered around the bar.

"MY FUCKING NOSE!" Jericho shouted into his hands, as James smiled and looked at his fist.

"You were right….I do feel better." James smirked as he approached Jericho.

"You little cock sucking piece of shit! You broke my nose." Jericho groaned, clearly in a lot of pain and angry about his nose.

"Come on big man, let's see that nose." James spoke calmly as he lowered Jericho's hands gently away from his face and began examining the broken nose.

"Okay, looks broken…but I think I can fix it." James said, as he looked at the nose.

"THEN FUCKING DO IT!" Jericho barked, glaring at the kid.

"It's gonna hurt like hell." James explained as he positioned his hands on the old raiders face. The problem with doing this with one robotic hand was that James wasn't sure how much pressure he could apply with the metallic limb. For all he knew he could be making it a lot worse by applying pressure with it, but he was in a rather sadistic mood so he didn't care.

"Just fucking do it!" Jericho snapped, as James applied the pressure and snapped the nose back into place. Jericho screamed, as James proved that he was not gentle when it came to doing this. Releasing Jericho's skull from his grip, James turned to face the small area in the north of the cavern. That must have been where they kept the slaves.

"You son of a bitch!" Jericho grunted, sniffing the air with his fixed nose, wiping the blood off on his sleeve.

"You asked for it..." James responded, smiling back at him as he picked up his rifle and some ammo.

"Fuck you." Jericho said, cracking a smile at James as he turned towards the bar.

"Is that where they keep the slaves?" James asked, as Jericho looked towards the area James was referring to.

"The entertainment…yeah that's where their kept." Jericho responded, still referring to the people up there as entertainment opposed to what they were.

"Is there a key?" James asked, scratching his head as he spoke.

"It's on the hook by the door." Jericho said as he rummaged through the bars contents, as if he was looking for something special.

Ignoring the curiosity to ask Jericho what he was looking for; James walked up towards the barred door and found the key hanging from a hook just outside it. Using this key, he unlocked the door and walked up the stairs towards the sound of fearful whimpers and sobs. What he saw brought back far more memories than he cared to have recalled. People locked in cages and starved to the point of death, hope slowly draining from their bodies. James saw little to no life in their eyes, when he approached the cages. As he drew near, the prisoners backed away from the doors towards the walls. Shivering in fear as James stood before them through the bars. He knew what it was like. To be that hungry. To be that scared of someone. To feel like there was no hope left.

"Don't be frightened. I'm here to free you." James explained, but his words fell on deaf ears. Taking a deep sigh, James realized they were not going to believe he was there to help. They couldn't believe that. Not now. Unlocking the doors, James dropped the keys and returned to the bar.

When he returned, he saw Jericho looking at some of the raider corpses in disdain, like they had disappointed him in some way. As James approached the old man, Jericho held up a glass of whiskey to James, which the young man gladly accepted. There they were standing around the corpses of god knew how many dead raiders, some of which were unarmed, others armed to the teeth. Downing the stiff drink in one gulp, intent on drinking these resurfacing memories away, as he watched the raiders captives exit their cells. Jericho was now concentrating on his new shotgun. Smiling at the kid, he poured them both a glass of whiskey from a large bottle.

"This looks like a good time for another drink!" Jericho announced, handing James another glass of whiskey with a smile.

"We gonna toast to something?" James asked a smile now on his face.

"How's about…to one hell of a partnership?" Jericho announced, raising his glass to his young companion.

"Sure thing…partner." James smiled, as the cling of the glasses ringed throughout the bar. Both men downed their drink quickly, letting out a heavy gasp as they finished. Jericho let out a vulgar burp, causing James to laugh in amusement at the raider's antics.

Despite how much both men had drank, they found themselves still somewhat sober. They weren't completely sober, but they were level headed. Or at least as level headed as they could be after the blood loss, and amount they both had drank. Still they were a lot more sober than they would have been at Moriarty's on a Saturday night at this hour. James found himself smiling, as he knew he would miss those times, but soon noticed Jericho looking over the corpses at their feet.

"You'd swear that a fucken army ah raiders would put up more of a fight?" Jericho stated, loading his new toy slowly as he spoke.

"You sound disappointed." James added leaning against the counter as he spoke, a smile on his face. James could see the slaves moving towards the two now. Perhaps, this was the reason Jericho was loading his shotgun James found himself asking. Sure they were harmless, but James had survived too much to know that looks could always be deceptive. He knew they weren't gonna do anything violent, after all what could they do.

"So are you?" James asked, feeling tired from lack of sleep, and slightly tipsy from the booze.

"Fuck no. I find it hysterical at how much of pansies they were." Jericho explained, chuckling to himself.

Jericho downed another disgustingly dirty glass of whisky, as a pregnant woman approached the two of them. James wasn't a doctor or hell maybe he was, after all he didn't remember what his G.O.A.T score was, but he could tell that she wasn't too far away from giving birth. Her body was scantily dressed, with bruises covering most of her arms and legs. The fact her baby survived so long in a raider base like this was something short of miracle, at least in his mind.

"So…are you guys going to take us all home?" She asked, as James stood looking at her with great disbelief.

This question sent chills down James' spine as it left the woman's lips. He was so close to finding his father, after so much time chasing leads and running around the wasteland in search for him. After they were reunited, they would go back to Vault 101, clear up the misunderstanding and be a happy family again. This belief kept James' hope for finding his father alive over his time spent in the wasteland. And now, here he stood on the edge of his journeys end, only to be asked to run around the wasteland returning these people to their homes. He was speechless. More for the fact that he wasn't sure he even wanted to help these people now. Had he not done enough by saving them? By putting his life at risk to free them from their captors? Had he not suffered the harsh reality of the DC Wasteland enough to have it end sooner rather than later? He deserved happiness and knew he had to tell these people no, but how could he do that? He began to regret freeing them when Jericho answered for him.

"Fuck yourself!" Jericho answered her, another glass of whiskey in his hand.

"What?" She asked, shock on her face. James felt relief run over his body as Jericho was able to say the one thing he feared he couldn't.

"We don't have to do a damn thing for any of ya! Hell, we could have just left ya in this place to rot, for all I care. So I'll say this again. Fuck. Yourself. "Jericho explained, being as brutally honest as he saw fit.

"But we could die!" She argued, tears forming in her eyes as she spoke.

"Oh boo-fucking-hoo! Me and the kid could have died coming here, but we didn't. We could have died fighting off those pansies. Hell, the kid almost died because of these bastards, and you have the balls to ask us for more help! Gimme a fucking break." Jericho stated, finding a mix of being honest and being a complete and utter asshole.

"You two have guns, we don't!" She replied, tears streaming down her face as she spoke.

"Look around, honey. There's a fucken collection of weapons and gear on these limp dicked fuckers bodies. Take some. And then fucken leave!" Jericho ordered, drinking down the glass of whiskey.

"No…you freed us. We are your responsibility." She stated anger in her tone at how the man was not taking her or her plea seriously.

"We don't have to do a god damn thing! Now I don't want to have to say this shit again. Fuck. Off." Jericho barked, as he turned away from the woman.

James felt a sense of bitter relief crash over him. It wasn't fair to do this to these people, but at the same time he didn't have the time to save them. None saved him when he needed help, and none took him by the hand and guided him home when he was near death. He knew that some of these people wouldn't survive, but at the same time at least they weren't slaves anymore. However, he was not prepared for what was to come next.

Whether it was out of fear or anger, the pregnant woman grabbed a fork from one of the tables and lunged at Jericho. Realising he was in danger, Jericho raised his arms to defend his head and neck. The fork was buried deep into his neck, though did not hit deep enough to kill him. James stood in shock, unsure of what to do. Did he defend his partner, and kill a pregnant woman? Or did he just let his friend be attacked? Pushing her away and removing the fork from his neck, Jericho's eyes glared at her with a new found hatred. Rage and bloodlust filled his eyes as he glared in silence.

"YOU FUCKEN BITCH!" Jericho shouted, as he aimed his shot at the unarmed woman.

"No please don't." She begged, raising her hands in surrender and fear.

"Jericho…" James spoke softly, watching Jericho as he started walking towards the woman.

"Please…don't kill me. I'm sorry!" She pleaded, guarding her stomach with one hand as she raised the other to Jericho in an attempt to stop him. Jericho cocked the shotgun, and ignored her attempts.

"JERICHO!" James screamed, but his words were silenced by the thunderous blast of Jericho's shotgun.

The shotgun blast echoed heavily against the ears of those in the cave. Paralysed faces of shock, disgust, and fear were worn by the other captives at what they had just witnessed. James was no different, and looked in shock at the woman's dead body. Speechless, and yet the situation didn't really hit him until now.

"She was pregnant…and you killed her." James said calmly, before turning around and grabbing Jericho by the throat with his metallic hand. This man, who moments ago, he was drinking with and toasting to their partnership,

"SHE WAS PREGNANT! AND YOU FUCKING KILLED HER LIKE AN ANIMAL!" James shouted, anger and hatred in his tone as Jericho gasped for breath.

"That's right…" Jericho wheezed heavily, punching James in the gut before pushing him away. Both men took heavy deep breaths as they stared at each other.

"Ya know what, that's right! But ya know what else? You watched me do it! So don't start with that whole high and mighty shit with me, kid!" Jericho barked, slowly and maliciously speaking.

"Ya coulda blocked the shot, stopped me from firing, or stopped her from stabbing me, but ya didn't." Jericho explained, pressing his hand on the stab wound in his neck.

"Ya know what that tells me?" You don't give a shit about people anymore." Jericho stated, his face growing darker and darker with each word spoken.

"…." James remained speechless, hoping Jericho was lying. But he knew the raider wouldn't bullshit about something like this.

"Noting to say to that, Mister Saint? No? So let me ask you something. Who's gonna save us from YOU, when you become no better than these assholes?" Jericho asked kicking the corpse of one of the raiders as he spoke, causing a knot to form in James' stomach. One that continuously grew tighter and tighter with every word Jericho spoke.

"What then?" Jericho asked, glaring into the fearful eyes of James.

"I'll tell ya what then. Then we are all fucked!" Jericho answered, causing James to take a step back in fear.

"That's not gonna happen." James answered defiantly, more fear in his voice now than anger.

"Sure it aint. Keep telling yourself that, kid. You'll sleep better." Jericho responded, mocking James as he pushed past the kid.

"Now, I'm getting a fucken Stimpack, then we're going to find your dad. So you two can finally go fuck off back to ya little vault, and leave me the fuck alone." Jericho barked, walking away from the now motionless James. It was now that James realized, the person he was the angriest at now was himself.

As Jericho walked away from James, one of the captives decided to take Jericho's advice and picked up a weapon. His intended target was obvious to everyone in the cavern, except the target itself, who was much more focused on his bleeding wound. Seeing this, James pointed his rifle towards the skinny malnourished man firing off a warning shot that narrowly missed his target.

"Don't even think about it." James warned, cocking his rifle as he looked at the group. Jericho was among those now looking at James, as he held the rifle towards the group.

"Let me make one thing fucking clear!" James barked, as he aimed the rifle at the sickly weak prisoners.

"If it weren't for us, you fucks would still be behind bars. Playing the part of plaything for these degenerate assholes! We killed all these fuckers that are at your feet now, and are literally the only way you guys are gonna get out here alive. So you all have a choice to make." James explained, all compassion gone from his voice as he spoke.

"Option A, you do what we say and maybe you will live to see another fucking day." James barked, his rifle steady as an evil smile crossed his face.

"Or option B. I kill each and every one of you now." James smirked as he took aim on the weak prisoners.

"Understand?" James asked, not needing an answer to know they would do what he said.

"Good." James responded, lowering his rifle.

In what can only be described as a stupid move on the malnourished man's part, he decided to take the opportunity to try his hand again at getting revenge for the woman. However, he was too slow to pull the trigger and realised almost instantly that this was a fatal mistake. James had stopped the man from second guessing his actions, by firing a round into the man's skull. A woman let out a scream of fear and horror, as he fell to the ground dead. Blood poured out of his skull from the wound the bullet had inflicted. There were tears from those around him, but all had learned to listen to the men that saved them if they wanted to survive.

Catching up with Jericho, James felt like he was going to get sick. In that moment, while killing someone who not only was no real threat to him but also as an example to those around him to stay in line, reminded him of the Pitt. The prisoners already reminded him of how he felt as a slave, but now they reminded him what it was like being a slaver. It made him sick to his stomach, but also granted him a sick joy that came with the feeling of power. He hated himself so much for what he had done, but the sooner he found his dad, the sooner he would be home and all would be right again with the world. Jericho had stabbed himself with a stimpack he found on one of the raiders, healing his wound up almost instantly.

"Hey…Jericho…" James started, finding it hard to come up with the words he needed.

"Fuck off kid." Jericho snapped, not showing a bit of gratitude towards the man who had just saved his life.

"Look…I am not gonna pretend I agree with what the hell you just did there." James started, as Jericho turned around to James.

"And am I supposed to apologize for killing the bitch that stabbed me?" Jericho asked, raising an eyebrow towards James.

"Let me ask you a question, kid. Would you have let them think you were gonna bring them back to their homes after we were done here?" Jericho asked, shoving James a little as he spoke.

"Well, I don't know"

"Eeeeh! Wrong answer fuck-o! You know as well as I do there was no chance in hell you were gonna stop now when you're so close to finding your fucking dad." Jericho barked interrupting James, still shoving James aggressively.

"Stop shoving me!" James warned, as he raised a finger to Jericho.

"Or you'll what? Talk me to death?" Jericho asked, shoving James again. Out of instinct, James grabbed Jericho's arm and twisted it behind his back, before pushing him against the wall.

"I warned you!" James stated, as Jericho grunted in pain.

It was then, that Jericho forced himself back on top of the kid, and quickly rolled over on top of James. It was at this point, James felt the old raider assault him over and over with punches. Jericho was angry, and had to take his rage out on someone. Anyone.

"YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!" Jericho shouted, as his fist connected with James face.

"YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?! HUH? IS THAT IT?!" Jericho screamed, drawing blood from the kid's mouth as he assaulted him.

"NO FUCKEN VAULTIE PIECE OF SHIT IS BETTER THAN ME! UNDERSTAND!" Jericho shouted, as he wrapped his hands around the young man's neck and looked into his eyes.

"Not so nice when it's your neck being fucking choked is it?" Jericho said through gritted teeth, as James struggled for air.

Jericho could see the life slowly drain out of the kid's body, but noticed something else. Rather than using the metallic arm to try and free his neck from Jericho's grasp, he was using his flesh arm. Jericho didn't realize that this was a diversion before he felt the metallic hand slam into his stomach, causing him to loosen his grip. Before his had time to react, Jericho felt the flesh hand smash him across the face. This caused Jericho to let go of James' throat and roll off the young man's body. James let out a heavy gasp for air, as Jericho let go of his neck. Both men took deep breaths again, and looked at each other with a mix of contempt and confusion. James ran his hand over his neck, feeling the area that Jericho had just let go off. Jericho flashed a smile, rubbing his jaw as he chuckled to himself.

"That thing really packs a punch." Jericho smirked as he looked at James.

"You….choke like a bitch!" James wheezed as both men began laughing.

"Let's get these bitchs out of here…Then we finish this shit." Jericho grumbled, as he got to his feet and walked towards the entrance of the caverns. James reluctantly followed him, looking at this pip-boy to discover it was almost dawn.

* * *

 **A\N: So shall I explain some things, as I always do.**

 **1\. Jericho's outlook on luck = This is more a comment on his age than anything else. For those who dont know Jericho (In game) is in his 60s. I kid you not. The man was once a raider and has probably seen a lot of shit in his time, hence his dark belief that only the lucky get to die young. He is by no way suicidal, but does believe that hes stuck in a world too grim to outlive. But the main reason is hes just an asshole.**

 **2\. The ant story = Springvale school has always been a fun location to me. Mostly cuz i walked into it the first time I played the game and was killed by all the ants after dealing with the raiders. Its full of raiders and ants, two of my fave enemies in fallout 3. Ants because they go splat and raiders because...well lets face it their canon fodder.**

 **3\. 3 plans = There was no two other ideas. There was only ever one. But this is a side reference to my proof reader who I ran by two ideas of how they got out of this situation before I came up with the one they use in the story. They refered to it as the more realistic and less superhero like way to kill the raiders.**

 **4\. Time = Time plays an important factor in this story, hence why I mention it. The story's title says it all, its one night in evergreen mills. Which means they wont be sleeping anytime soon for those who want to know.**

 **5\. "Why is Jericho so Vulgar?"- Random citizen = Jericho is a foul mouthed cocky impulsive asshole. He swears whenever he damn well pleases and is as crude as humanly possible. His character is a former raider, as is in game, and therefore I cant imagine the guy being all too civil when it comes to danger. I get this question a lot in PM's and never understood why the fact I made Jericho a bit more wordy than he is in game upsets certain folk. Like have you met raiders? Not exactly a good bunch of guys.**

 **6\. Cateye is only in NV! = So? I am using anything from Fallout Lore I can. Which means any and all things are fair game. If it appeared in a fallout game I may use it. So dont bitch about me using a drug that appeared in Nv.**

 **7\. James' concern= This was something that came to my mind when I wrote the scene. Because James has a mechanical arm he has to be super careful when doing certain things. Because too much pressure and boom hes made it worse.**

 **8\. The Slaves= Yeah this part here was important. See as I mention in the story, James was a slave once in the pitt and underwent horrible treatment at the hands of his captors. So he has something against slavery. Go figure. However as stated as well, James was then a slaver and you see a difference in his personality about it. But more on that later.**

 **9\. Watchmen = As pointed out before in Megaton stories, this bit is suppose to be the scene from Watchmen in which the Comedian kills a pregnant woman. The is a difference though. As I have alread laid out James is someone who has lost all his innocient hard and pretty damn fast. Theres very few good things left in his life. He has been broken down again and again, each time only barely managed to put himself togeter again. This scene is perfect because it shows just how much humanity James has lost as it did with Manhatten. While Manhatten knows what Blake did was wrong he doesnt feel anything about it because in the grand scheme of things it means nothing. James on the hand watchs it happen, like it was just an everyday thing. Its not until he realizes fuck thats horrible. James is angry at himself for not caring. For letting it not affect him in such a way. This scene perfectly describes how fucked James is.**

 **10\. James V Jericho = The two men are tired and pissed off. Give them a break. They fight a lot because James trys to be a good person and Jericho cant see any good reason to be a good person. They are a hell of a team but even the best pairing has a few dents in it.**

 **Remember to leave me a little review on what you thought and I shall see you guys in the next chapter :D Later.**


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Hope you all like this final chapter of One Night at Evergreen Mills. I know I have been gone a while, and this (in my opinion) is not my best work, but I am currently working on several other writing projects, and even starting up my own sub reddit for more original stories. Anyways hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

James and Jericho slowly crept out of the caverns with caution; the night sky was growing brighter with the approaching day. But there still lingered a sense of doom in the air. The feeling of a closing danger, that none wanted to acknowledge. There was one last thing the raiders could throw at the survivors, and James felt the knot in his stomach only growing more and more tight as he approached light of the exit. Pausing just before the door, he took a deep breath as he, Jericho, and the unarmed group following entered the factory floor.

"None here…" James stated, looking around the room. Dazed from the alcohol and lack of sleep, but not completely out of it that he wouldn't know if there were some raiders ready to get the jump on them.

"I can fucken see that!" Jericho barked, loading the shotgun with what little shells he had left.

"Do you know what that means?" James asked, glaring back at his companion.

"That nones fucken here! What else?" Jericho stated, glaring at James who looked to be extremely irritated at this form of answer.

"It means that they are outside! Probably getting ready to unleash hell on us!" James barked, glaring towards Jericho, while the group behind him let out a collection of concerned gasps and whispers.

James hoped beyond hope that he was wrong, that the raiders were neither that desperate nor that stupid to actually try and control the Behemoth. He checked what little ammo he had left for his rifle; as he felt fear grip him hard. The last time he had faced a behemoth was when he was crippled by one, and almost didn't walk again as a result. Were it not for Charon and Pinkerton, he most certainly would be dead or have spent the remaining of his days in a wheelchair. Since that day, he had tried his hardest to avoid fighting one at all costs, so as to never be in that position again. He still remembered how weak he felt, while he was being carried through the DC ruins by Charon, barely alive and putting them both at risk. He never wanted to put anyone in that position again, and was also certain that Jericho would probably leave him for dead if that was the case.

"Okay…so what are we gonna do?" Jericho asked, walking around the room hearing gunshots from outside the complex.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know? I'm just winging it right now." James smirked, feeling the knot in his stomach grow and grow. What was he going to do? He didn't have the time or ammo to take out a behemoth.

"I fucking love the sound of that, kid!" Jericho said, feeling the old raider feeling come back to him as the gunfire outside echoed.

"You're fucking crazy, old man!" James chuckled, as both of them approached the exit.

"What do we do with them?" Jericho asked, as James put a cigarette into his mouth for what could be his final smoke.

"They stay here, when the gunfire stops…well they can either stay or die? Right?" James said grimly, as he waited for the gunfire outside to end.

Taking a deep breath, James left the building and walked out into the dying night gripping his rifle nervously as Jericho followed. He had to admit, that the breeze felt really good on his skin as he exited the building. It was brisk, but the booze in his system gave him the false feeling of warmth as he felt the cold air roam over his body. This feeling of freedom was quickly crushed by the bellowing roar of the super mutant behemoth that the raiders had released in an attempt to stop James and Jericho from escaping alive. Leave it to raiders to get themselves killed in the process of trying to kill just two guys. They were very dangerous in numbers, true, but still drugged out idiots all the same. The smell of blood and gore filled the air, as the giant hulking monster roared out to the sky. James felt fear make his legs heavier than cement, as his eyes focused on the beast, which thankfully had yet to notice the two insignificant waste landers. Not taking any chances, James and Jericho ducked behind a dumpster for cover to avoid the monsters sight.

"Kid…got a plan?" Jericho asked, loading his shotgun, as James watched the monster stomp around the yard.

"Well…I have an idea." James stated, looking towards the old raider as he spoke.

"Yeah, what is it?" Jericho asked, curious as to what crazy idea James had come up with.

"Before I tell you, I want you to know it's really risky…" James stated, only paused by Jericho's quick interruption.

"Is there any other kind of fucken plan?" Jericho interrupted, cutting James off.

"…And I am almost sure it won't work." James finished, pausing as he looked at Jericho's unimpressed expression.

"Better than nothing." Jericho grumbled, as James nodded in agreement.

"I need that shotgun, and you are going to have to distract that thing. From there on, we improvise" James explained, much to Jericho's own displeasure.

"FUCK THAT!" Jericho barked, as James pushed his hand over the old raider's mouth.

"Shut up!" James whispered, as he removed his hand from the raider's mouth.

"It'll hear you!" James stated, taking a deep breath as Jericho glared at him.

"You ever do that to me again, and you'll lose that other fucking arm!" Jericho threatened, as the beast roared loudly, its voice bouncing off the walls of the hills.

Both men sat in silence for a moment, as the Behemoth's echoing footsteps grew louder and louder with its approach. Both James and Jericho could feel their hearts beat faster and faster as the monster got closer and clowser, not knowing how much longer they had before they were noticed.

"Fuck it! Let's do your plan!" Jericho snapped, pushing the shotgun into James chest. James handed Jericho his rifle, as both men nodded to each other.

"Don't go dying on me, Jericho." James said, as Jericho turned around to face James.

"Don't you get me fucking killed!" Jericho barked, rushing out into view for the huge mutant.

As Jericho opened fire on the mutant, he ran like hell across the yard being followed close behind by the roaring behemoth. James quickly rushed in the opposite direction, away from the behemoth. Climbing on top of a derailed train car, James continued his climb to higher ground. Grabbing on a chains that suspended one of the many raider's victim's in the air. Now all he needed to do was wait for the behemoth to get into position.

Jericho couldn't stop swearing as the monster chased him around the yard. There were a couple of times, where he almost was caught by the monster, but somehow managed to evade it at the last second. The creature wasn't about to give up easily, but then again, neither was Jericho.

"Come on kid!" Jericho shouted, as he noticed James was now standing perfectly still on a walkway looking towards the behemoth, with a chain wrapped around his metallic arm. It was at this moment; James leapt from the walkway and swung towards the Behemoth.

Digging the hook into the creatures back, the behemoth let out a loud and aggressive roar as it found itself chained to a nearby walkway. The structure wouldn't stay stable, so James had to act fast. Climbing up the creatures back, as it struggled to free itself from the structure. James dug his fingers into the flesh of the monster, as he climbed his way up towards its skull. James knew he had one shot at this, and wouldn't have much time before the creature realised something was on its back. Behemoths were far from intelligent, but they were not so stupid that they didn't know when something was climbing up their backs. James had just made it to the creature's neck, when its large arm stretched back towards him and tried to swat him like an insect. Narrowly avoiding it, James took out the shotgun and began to load it with one hand. Were it not for Jericho continuously firing the rifle at the creature, it would have been more focused on the thing on its back as opposed the thing in front shooting at it. James climbed up on its hunched neck and fired into the back of its skull, causing the creature to scream in agony. It began to panic as James continued to fire shots into the creatures head, swinging around its body to try and free itself and cause whatever was attacking it to lose its grip. Ramming the guns mouth into a hole, which the last shot made at the base of the behemoths skull, James readied to pull the trigger.

"Smile you ugly son of a bitch!" James shouted, pulling the trigger and creating a hole in the front and back of the behemoths skull. Silencing it once and for all.

The beast fell forward, breaking the chain that attached it to the structure. Its body hitting the ground shook the earth around them, and made a massive thud that even a mini nuke would be jealous of. James slowly climbed off its body, and looked back at its corpse. James's breath was heavy and weak as Jericho ran over and punched him in the face.

"You crazy bastard!" Jericho laughed, offering James a hand to get back to his feet.

"It worked didn't it?" James chuckled, rubbing his face in pain and taking the raiders hand and getting to his feet.

"Ready to go, Kid?" Jericho stated, smiling at James.

"Yeah…let's hit go find my dad, old man." James said, as he heard the slaves exit the building in awe at the dead behemoth.

The sun was rising on the two waste landers, as the orange sky greeted them with a sense of relief. They had survived the night of bloodshed and booze at Evergreen Mills, but now had to move on to the garage that would no doubt hold the next piece of the puzzle to finding James Cole Sr.


End file.
